beBetter 

We just checked into the Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC, and the rain is pouring down. In fact, it has poured for the last three hours since we landed in Charlotte and started our drive over.

Last Friday, I joined Jennifer Wilson and Amy Vetter on their weekly Leadership Lunch Chat LIVE to explore generous leadership and the element of gratitude. What I didn’t expect was to leave our discussion both humbled by their generous feedback and also convicted to be more intentional with my generosity. 

CeCe is out for a few hours running errands (shopping, I suspect) and I am staring at three strands of chimes that I promised to hang under our porte-cochère. I can see they are very breakable, long and must be positioned where they don’t ring constantly but do ring. I promised to get this done but I admit, I hate these home projects and occasionally tear up more than I fix.  

Mom baked me a large three-layer German Chocolate cake every year for my birthday from when I was a toddler until I was out of college. I’ve tried a lot of German Chocolate cakes, but never had one come close to touching Mom’s. The extra icing dripping between the layers of moist chocolate cake makes my taste buds water just thinking about it. 

Now this is a special birthday card! This one is from my 5-year-old granddaughter, Dabs. Here, she has drawn pictures of her younger brother, Sullivant, who is fondly called Sully (and Bu Bun as shown in this picture). Also included are Dabs, her older brother, Davis, her parents, Margie and Brandon,  me (Pops), and my wife, CeCe.

A card like this has so much meaning because of the personal touch, love and creativity. It’s one I’ll treasure forever. Dabs, in her own youthful and innocent way, is demonstrating how we can show others we care.  

In December each year, millions of people celebrate religious holidays. Christmas and Hanukkah, as well as spiritually significant days for Muslims, Buddhists and Pagans, are celebrated among others. Universally, humankind continues to look for morally good virtues to live by. Love, caring and kindness are three that we might find appealing to the masses. They certainly are to me, and I believe they are key virtues for anyone who wants to be a leader, influencer or a great team member. 

My wife, Cathy, and I had the unique experience of dining with friends at the MiniBar in Washington D.C. I have a serious weakness for food of all kinds. I love to eat. When I get sick, Cathy always laughs at me because I tell her I’m going to eat my way back to feeling good. Just try it, it works!  

To say this dining experience was a culinary extravaganza would be an understatement. The matching of the flavors, temperatures and textures was exquisite. I certainly tasted dishes that I will never experience again and the overall culinary experience was incredible. But this blog is not about food, believe it or not, it’s about service. 

Every day I strive to be a servant leader.  A servant leader looks to serve first and enables others to lead and serve.  I’ve challenged my team to be ready to lead, and to be aware that there will be times when the team is looking to you to lead. 

One of the frequent questions that I hear, or that is posed to me during interviews, is “How do you prepare to lead?”  I’ve reflected on this a lot and I think it can help us grow faster if we better understand servant leadership and how to grow as a leader.  I’m growing and learning every day and I hope that by blogging on this tough question, it will help both you and me to grow.  I am also so thankful for the benefit of good intentions that my team gives me when I make mistakes.  Knowing I can own these mistakes and change directions as needed, grows me as a leader.